I agree with maczuki and backwoodstracker, some union rules are just plain stupid. Example: There was an article in a small town paper a while back about the town mayor, who was driving to his office one morning and saw a sewer lid that had come dislodged. He stopped his car, and proceeded to re position the lid, back into place. All in all it took him less than 5 minutes to do. It saved the city money in a varity of different ways, especially if someone had hit it and decided to sue. Unfortunatly, someone from the citys DPW saw him, and reported him. He was threatened with legal action, and told roads are the DPW's responsibilty. It seems the union for the DPW has a set, fixed schedule for this job: 4 men, two for blocking the road, one supervisor, one laborer. They get 2+ hrs for the job. Yeah, some union rules are completly stupid, and I can go on about many union rules, my buddy who's a millright has told me stories that'll make you laugh at their stupidity. Same for the teamsters. That being said, I still think there's a place for the unions, it just needs to be brought back into the realm of reality and common sense, something the whole country seems to be lacking.